The present invention relates to compound miter saws or the like, and more particularly, to improvements in compound miter saws relating to the work supporting fence and its mounting/position relative to an associated miter adjustable turntable, as well as to the mounting of a swinging blade guard relative to the saw, to facilitate access to the shaft on which the saw blade rotates, and closed cylinders for the saw enabling pivotal movement and bevel adjustment of the saw relative to the turntable.
Miter and bevel cutting of wood, metals, and plastics is required in a variety of industries. In the construction industry, for example, moldings, door frames, window frames, chair rail and the like must be miter cut at corners. In addition to the diagonal or miter cut, a combined miter/bevel cut is required in certain instances for the proper fitting of cut parts. As will be appreciated, residential construction requires a relatively large number of such cuts.
At the present time, both hand miter boxes and powered miter saws have been developed to assist in making miter and bevel cuts. Powered miter saws have replaced hand miter boxes in some cases because the powered miter saws permit miter and bevel cuts to be more quickly and easily made then with the use of the hand miter box. In order to facilitate its use around a construction site, for example, the powered miter saw must be portable, easy to use, sturdy in construction and relatively economical, allowing individual workman to purchase and obtain their own powered miter saw.
Some examples of powered miter saws include U.S. Pat. No. 4,011,782 where a powered miter saw is pivotally mounted between an upper at rest position and a lower operational position, and includes saw mounting and locking means to normally bias the saw in upper at rest position, but permitting the saw to be locked in a down position, as well as detent and locking means for a turntable to permit one-handed miter adjustment; U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,117 where a powered miter saw is mounted for movement on a pair of spaced parallel guide rods supported by a frame, together with spaced work supporting fences which retain their position while a miter turntable is selectably moved; U.S. Pat. No. 4,581,966 in which a powered miter saw has a swinging blade guard that covers an exposed segment of the saw blade when the saw is in an at rest position, including a linkage system that both exposes the saw blade when lowered, as well as enables the linkage system to be temporarily reduced, facilitating access to the saw blade for changing the same; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,638,700 in which a portable miter saw has a mechanism interlocked with the turntable for saw blade clearance gap in the work supporting fence.
While all of the aforementioned examples have worked well for their intended purpose, there are several noticeable deficiencies which have not been solved by prior art designs. One area of deficiency relates to the manner in which the work supporting fence is located and supported relative to the work table, causing loss of capacity or inaccurate and ineffective clamping of the work supporting fence relative to the work table. Another area of deficiency relates to the movement of the turn table for miter cuts, while maintaining a predetermined and favorable position for the work supporting fence. A still further area of deficiency relates to the manner in which a swinging blade guard is removed to permit access to the shaft on which the saw blade rotates, without expensive and complicated arrangements. Finally, the pivoting of the saw and the bevel adjustment of the saw relative to the turntable have not provided accurate adjustment in a long lasting and durable construction.